Marvel star Anthony Mackie has a surprising favorite superhero – and no, it's not Falcon or Captain America

Captain America: Brave New World
(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Captain America: Brave New World star Anthony Mackie has revealed his favorite Marvel superhero – and it's not who you'd expect.

"My favorite character of all time is the Incredible Hulk," Mackie told Deadline. "I've always been a Hulk fan. When I was a kid, I used to watch the TV shows. I just always loved the Hulk."

But, he does have a small question about the character. “I always wondered, 'How come everything came off except the pants?' Everything – his shirt, his shoes – came off, but his pants stayed," Mackie reflected. "I always thought that was weird."

The upcoming Captain America 4 is set to feature Red Hulk, AKA Thunderbolt Ross, played by Harrison Ford. Whether the green version of Hulk will show up is a mystery for now.

Captain America 4 is arriving next year, and it used The Winter Soldier as a key reference. "So, it was the first conversation we had up until now, was making sure that the movie was grounded," Mackie told us at this year's SDCC. "A bunch of our reshoots was about the idea of taking the movie where it was and grounding it more."

He added: "Captain America is every man's hero, you know? So every man has to look at Captain America and see himself in Cap. So it's very important that when people look at me as Captain America, they see themselves and me the way I saw myself in Superman or Batman when I was a kid. So, it was a conversation we had since the beginning, and it's something that we stuck to since we finished the movie."

Captain America 4 arrives in theaters February 14, 2025. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies and TV shows for everything else that's on the way.

Molly Edwards
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.